A Rising Power in Chinese Art

12/7/2012 3:21AM

In less than seven years, Poly Auction has become a major player in the art world. The WSJ's Jason Chow talks about the paintings that sold for nearly $3 million each at the Poly autumn auction in Beijing.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... the ... the Wall Street Journal's Jason Chow kit to tell us how Poly Auction is becoming the dominant player ... ok Jason were talking Chinese art Write to what was on the highlights of this option is right ... so ... just the back of the bin so you can do a background all we just had their fall auction sale was the six day event which ... completes the day actually ... and um they sold everything that's been was Chinese with everything from Tipperary traditional ink paintings calligraphy ... on ... using rare books bite you Corning's to the tothe the lack ... of started off with contemporary expands the SEC's of the photos that were in a show ... of these were the top lots ... the really into um realist paintings that that that so so what are some examples of some of them are pricier items in the option ... one is a work by a review ... which ... sold for almost three million U S ... as it did to seventy million on ... the hands of another where it was the ... painting by young St which had been up to fifteen in Beazer that's ... less than on ... it that the three million as well ... these were quite sought after and they were the subject of bidding wars ... history and in a Poly option is a relatively new player in mainland China ... how to get off the ground ... apologists targets doesn't five and a ... the the Seville background about the company ... that some owned by ... the China poly group ... which is of large conglomerates that was originally started by the ... GLA the People's Liberation ... so there's that they have roots in the army and military ties ... um ... it within this conglomerate theater still be so do arms building in trading and investing in trading ... on the market they have proper development mining and the debt ... the thing is in many pies ... IV started the ... auction two dozen five because of the work to get more and more into cultural industries ... um and ... it already since nineteen eighty seven The been buying ... historically in culturally relevant artifacts to repeat it back ... to when to get more involved in cultural industries ... and to buy the stock ... stirring up to speed with the U ... K as part of their success do I mean you know we share alot about the subsidies and the Christie's and that ... is a lot of their success because of those other international auction houses have had a harder time getting access to mean anti yet absolutely um did their little bit sheltered the effect that the ... the two with the international auction houses ... aren't really free to do to operate in China ... on the D due mostly to the trade with Chinese collectors Beastie out of Hong Kong ... and is a few reasons for that um one major one is the fact that the ... it's it's difficult to ... to trade with the call historically your culturally relevant ... facts ... so these but because it would be able to ... say I'm Source the light of all Chinese antiques and gifts of rock that would ... bring about ... aam ... that said that ... it would ... only be number one play right now ... but there to get some Western competition ... Sotheby's ... did recently a few months ago ... signed a joint venture with a state-owned company in Beijing ... to set up an auction house um ... so ... precipitously Sotheby's working in China ... at a place to see that the slowdown in China isn't impacting the